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In June 2020George Washington University researchers have published an analysis of the algorithms used by ride-sharing startups like Uber and Lyft to determine fares using Chicago’s law that requires ride-hailing apps to disclose their prices. The algorithms also hinted at evidence that drivers living in buildings with older, lower-income and less-educated residents were charged more than those from more affluent areas. Ride sharing in affluent neighborhoods.
Uber and Lyft rejected the study’s findings, saying the methodology was flawed. But it wasn’t the first study to identify troubling inconsistencies in the apps’ algorithmic decision-making.
Drivers aren’t the only ones affected by routing and pricing algorithms. Uber has recently come under fire for implementing “advance pay” for drivers, which uses an algorithm to pre-calculate fares using factors that are not always in the driver’s best interest.
At the delivery point, Amazon’s routing system is said to encourage drivers to make risky decisions along the way to accommodate short delivery windows. Meanwhile, apps like DoorDash and Instacart use algorithms to calculate payments for couriers — algorithms that some delivery people say make it harder to predict and track their earnings.
According to Amos Toh, a senior researcher at Human Rights Watch who studies AI and algorithms in gig work, the more opaque the algorithms are, the more regulators and the public find it difficult to hold companies accountable.
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